Technical Re-arching leaf springs. Does it last?

The rear end of my 1947 Chevy sits too low for my taste. I think the leaf springs are roughly 30 years old. A local shop will re-arch them for $100 each. Have you guys had good luck with re-Arching springs? The last time I re-arched a spring it settled back to the same ride height within a few weeks. I’m trying to decide if it is worth my time and effort.

 

My yellow sedan in this picture from '66 had all four leafs re-arched. Never settled in
10yrs of driving and street racing. Back then, it was very common to do. Bob

 

Yep works fine if done right.

I bet I've done every bit of atleast 200 sets the old way with a 16 lb sledge and anvil in the last 40 yrs.

The trick is stepping the leafs, if not done properly the load isn't distributed between the leafs.

Here is a pic of some I did about a year ago, this is how you properly step them.

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Ok. Thanks guys. Yep, that is how I stepped mine. Maybe it depends on the quality of the spring material? I guess I’ll give it a shot.

 

I ran an off topic '67 S code Mercury for a while with sagging leafs. A friend and I re-arched them on his muffler pipe bender. Wow what a difference. The restored stance lasted for the 4 or 5 years I owned it. I would recommend it.
We started with stock height then worked our way to approximately 2 inches higher than stock to account for settling. Put them on, take them off and tweak it. Put them on, take them off and tweak it. Over and over. What a pain. I can't say it settled much though.

 

Leaf springs are normal wear items on circle track cars. I had a buddy who got tired of buying springs and started re-arching what he had.

Point being, if you have a press you can do it yourself and not be out anything but time.

 

Spring steel never changes it's stiffness [only it's setting]
So over millions of cycles the spring slowly settles.

Arching or Flattening springs does not affect stiffness [ride quality] but adding or removing leafs does.
The secret to re-arching is to bend them in a controlled manner. [you can do this yourself]

The biggest challenge is removing them from your vehicle [you need to do this anyway]
You can make a "Jig" to re-arch them using a bottle jack.

Here is my method [the bolt at the top circled is a "stopper" to keep the arch consistant and equal from L to R]








Once you have a Jig ,you can alter the ride height up or down [if your tastes in stance change]

 

Two important things that can affect spring re-arching and how long it lasts.
1): Do not apply heat. The re-arching process should be done cold.
2): Removing leaves from a spring to lower a vehicle or soften the ride can make the remaining spring pack too weak to do it's job. This may cause the leaf spring to flatten/settle too quickly and make the ride too low.

 

We have a '56 Belair that sits too low in back for my taste. i plan to build a jig and re-arch them myself to get about 2" more height. The Jig photo was just what i needed.
My plan was to draw a chalk line on the floor with the initial spring curve and check each spring against the line.

 

I use chalk on concrete as a reference.

When you make a Jig remember NO SHARP EDGES for the spring to contact.

On my bottle jack [only 2-1/2 ton] I made this adapter to drop over the ram


Then on the "uprights" I welded some 1/2" round bar across the top to create a "bridge" at the load point [The 2 sections of rectangular tube were "radiused" slighty on the inside]

Now for SAFETY , there is a lot of energy in a spring when arching it.
I drilled 2 holes [right through] shown below circled in red
When I am arching the spring close to the ends, I slide a large screwdriver through these holes AND the spring eye to prevent it from slipping out under tension and becoming a ballistic missile.


And don't try and re-arch near the center bolt hole.

 

That's exactly what I do, draw a chalk mark on the floor of the original main leaf then hammer arch from there. Once I got the main spring exactly where I want it I step the rest of the springs to fit the main leaf.

If you show me the ride height of your car first, then tell me how high you wanna go I can get within 1/4" to that height just by experience, I know how much the spring will deflect once the weight is put back on it.

Lots of experience like I said. I sure as hell don't miss doing it! Used to do lots of them in the old days, 4x4, 2wd, hot rods, lots of race cars etc. It sure is a work out!

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Here is a set of pics to show how it works, 1 pic shows how flat they were starting out, another shows the chalk mark. Then the tools I use. Then the fit of spring 1 vs the original flat spring.

It's an interesting and dying art.

 

I have tons lots when the 4x4 craze was a Home Run . I reached and added 2 leafs to many a Chebbie 4x4 . Never had one settling issue

 

We re-arched the springs on my car. It's been a few years now. Have they settled? Maybe but not really noticeable. We used a press to do it. Quite a bit of work.

I watched a spring shop with a proper table to re-arch springs do it and dang, so quick and easy. LOL

 

Yep. It lasts. They're still doin' it...

My wife does leaf springs on our 20 ton press, NOW air-over hydraulic. (She was doing them on the standard 10 ton press, but I made her stop; That right arm was showing a little too much 'form'!)
Stopped her while she was still 'balanced'.

 

Preemptory self defense move?

 

I did my Nova stock car springs on a 50-ton press at work. Marked off 2" intervals and bumped them together side by side. It was good for 2 seasons, most upper division jack up the rear of their cars in the pits or in the garage at home.

 

My buddy made one out of a Harbor Freight tubing Bender I think he welded some pieces on to some of the rollers but we've rearched Springs probably a hundred times with that thing

 

I had a pair of springs rebuilt at a local big-rig truck repair shop. They lasted more than 150K miles without sagging again.

 

If you can't do them yourself, a reputable truck shop with older, experienced guys still working there is a good bet.

 

Fascinating. Last thing I woulda guessed due to past experience!
perhaps I would try it in the future...

 

Please explain this sits too low? I've not had that problem....

 

This deserves a photo, even though it isn't my thread .


-and i don't have any photo that shows how it sits front to rear .
Anyhow, with p***engers in the back seat and a couple bushels of apples in the trunk it pretty much sits on the bump stops.

 

My reply was intended as sarcasm, not a real question. I like my hot rods low.

 

In that situation the springs are probably broke down to each other, as in, there is no stepping left between the leafs.

I would take them apart and check the fit between the leafs. If they are flat with each other I'd add about 3/4" inch arch to main leaf then step the rest. Probably add about an inch to your height but strengthen them up as far as load goes.

If it didn't meet the load your trying to reach I'd add a leaf after the second main leaf that matched the step between the new leaf and the next in pack. This wouldn't add much to height (1/2" at most if done right) but would give you a little firmer ride and load bearing ability.

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I like them low in the front but not the back. That’s just me though.

 

I built this in rougher form for doing some "A" bumpers; dusted off and rebuilt to a more prescience [comfortable for me, toolmaker problem] with a dial indicator for bend amount. To do front F-1 springs, reversing eyes. Marked every inch on spring going as close to eye as possible. Best I can figure I did them 7 yrs ago, so 7k miles and arch is still there.

 

How the hell did he get his wife to do the springs in the first Place?